


Getting Warmer

by Argent_Vulpine



Series: Seteth Birthday Bash 2020 [2]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: A little flirtation, Accidental Exposure, Ambiguous Route (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Bath Houses, F/M, Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Sauna, Seteth Birthday Bash 2020, flustered seteth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:08:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28234431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Argent_Vulpine/pseuds/Argent_Vulpine
Summary: It wasn't his fault. Except it kind of was. But he didn't intend to catch Byleth in a compromising situation, and now he can't stop thinking about it.
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth & Seteth, My Unit | Byleth/Seteth
Series: Seteth Birthday Bash 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2066490
Comments: 6
Kudos: 31
Collections: Seteth Birthday Bash 2020





	Getting Warmer

He hadn’t meant to.

That was the mantra he was telling himself as he fled the bathhouse, fighting the wave of embarrassment that threatened to set his face aflame. He’d gone in, mind still going over reports from the day, and hadn’t even thought about checking to see if the changing room he always used was occupied. He hadn’t expected anyone else to be in the bath at this time of night, truth be told.

Normally, Seteth was one of the last people for the day.

But normally, the students all went in waves after dinner. Normally, the professors had their own time slots after that. Normally, they hadn’t just returned from a grueling experience in the field.

Today was not a normal day.  
He cleared his throat, schooling his features into some semblance of composed, and decided to go on a stroll instead, firmly putting

out of his mind what he had seen.

Or trying to, at least.

He’d known that the young professor was an attractive woman. It was hard to avoid that fact, especially with the kind of clothing she was used to wearing. Not that her attempts to wear a student’s uniform were any better, frankly, and he was grateful when she’d stopped.

But at least she was clothed in those moments. Seeing her in a state of undress… he felt heat creeping up his neck and forced the thought away, focusing instead on where he was stepping, his eyes boring holes into the stones beneath him.

He was halfway to the main hall when a voice called out behind him. Calling for him, specifically. He turned, slowing as he saw who was approaching. “Good evening, Shamir. How may I help you?”

“Yeah, have you seen the professor? She ran off before she could be debriefed on the mission, but we figured letting her get clean first was fine… but that was an hour ago.”

It was all he could do not to let out a strangled cry. He was grateful for the high collar of his shirt, hopefully preventing the flush from being noticed. “I’m afraid I have not,” he replied, hopefully steadily. “Did you check the bathhouse?”

“I just came from there. Nowhere to be found.”

“Perhaps the sauna, then? I am aware she likes to frequent it after training sessions, perhaps a difficult mission would warrant the same treatment.”

“I hadn’t thought of that. I’ll try the sauna, and then her room. Maybe I just missed her.” She gave him a curt nod and turned around, jogging back the way she’d come.

Relieved that he’d answered her question well enough (and it seemed logical, truly) he went back to his stroll, very firmly shoving Byleth out of his mind. Again.

He ended up back at the suite of rooms that he and Flayn shared; she’d already had her time in the baths with her classmates – those who hadn’t gone on the mission, at any rate. She jumped up from the chair in their shared common room when he entered, setting her book down. “Oh! You are back already! And you… did not take a bath this evening?” she asked, confused.

“Ah, no, not yet. You know I prefer privacy, and there were others late using it.”

“Oh, I see. That is right, the professor and the others must have returned, is that it?” He nodded, and she bounced slightly on her toes.

“I hope that the professor will share with us what happened! She told me that I had much catching up to do before I would be allowed on the roster. Do not give me that look, you knew what it would mean for me to enroll in her class!” she added sternly when he’d begun to frown.

“I’ve spent such a long time protecting you, it’s… it’s a force of habit, Flayn. I will try to do better, I promise.”

She nodded, accepting this, and returned to her seat. “I take it you will be leaving again in a short while, when the bath is unoccupied again.”

“Yes, that is the plan.” He gave her a slight smile, taking up a seat of his own, grateful that she hadn’t asked any more questions. While he waited out an appropriate amount of time, he worked on the next of his fables, pouring all of his focus into that so that his mind would not wander elsewhere.

It wasn’t until he returned to the bathhouse itself that he found his concentration slipping, remembering the sight of the professor, still dripping from the bath and clad in only a towel.

He groaned softly, his head hitting the wall with a soft thunk as he tried to evict the mental image, but it persisted all throughout the process of changing and bathing, no matter what he did to remove it.

\--------

Over the next few days, Seteth did his best to avoid the professor, determined to push what happened out of his mind before he saw her again.

Except that it wasn’t possible to ignore her completely. There were mission debriefings to handle, the newest assignments to give out, certifications to endorse… the list was endless, it seemed, and every time he saw her, he looked away immediately, focusing his gaze elsewhere.

It ended up being a long week.

He had just sat down to lunch, a little sad to see that Flayn had gone to sit with some of her new friends instead of with him, when he was startled out of his thoughts by a tray being plunked down across from him. Seteth looked up in time to see the object of his embarrassment and frustration settling down, her tray piled high with food.

Honestly, he still had no idea how she managed to eat so much, but he assumed her quite active lifestyle did require more fuel than his own more sedentary profession. He must have made some kind of startled sound, because she looked up at him, dark eyes scrutinizing. When he didn’t say anything, she began to eat, quickly but not sloppily.

He ate his own meal at a more sedate pace, but he also had less of it. By the time he was nearly finished, so too was she, though she had slowed down to a more reasonable pace at some point. Seteth glanced up to see her looking at him, her features impassive but for a faint furrowing of her brow. He shifted under the scrutiny, the back of his neck warming. “Is there something wrong?” he finally asked. “Have I gotten something on me?”

She blinked, then glanced down at her food. “No. Sorry. I was just thinking.” The professor speared a vegetable on her fork, bringing it to her mouth and chewing thoughtfully. When she’d was done, she glanced at him again. “You seem more stressed than usual, Seteth.”

“I, ah… well, it’s a very busy time, that’s all. With the White Heron Cup approaching, and the ball… there’s much to do.”

She nodded, understanding. As a professor, she had her own duties to attend. Finding a dancer for her house, getting them trained (and did she even know how to dance?), and myriad other things. Another bit of vegetable was eaten, her gaze leaning pensive,

though it was still difficult to tell sometimes. “I reserved time at the sauna with no one else around,” she said after a moment. “Would you like to join me?”

Seteth almost choked on the piece of fish he’d been eating. He coughed, sputtering, and took a few quick sips of water.

If anything, Byleth only looked amused by this, the faintest curve of a smile pulling at the corners of her lips. “I like the quiet. I thought it might be nice for you, too.”

He hoped that he did not look as embarrassed as he felt. “Quite an unexpected offer,” he managed to say, chancing a glance at her. “… perhaps I will. You are right, of course, I have been quite stressed of late.”

She made a sort of humming sound, whether acknowledgement or agreement he wasn’t quite sure.

They finished their meal in relative silence after that, broken only by Byleth telling him what time she had reserved the sauna. And then she was gone, leaving him to stifle a groan… and the desire to bury his head in his hands. What had he done?

\--------

That evening he found himself outside the sauna a few minutes earlier than expected. A small group of people were leaving, chattering away. Some glanced his way and gave him respectful nods, which he returned absently.

He was oddly nervous about this, but kept reminding himself there was no reason to be. It was just some time relaxing in the sauna with the professor.

… the professor he had accidentally seen entirely undressed.

The same professor who had just run up the stairs leading to the sauna, though she barely looked winded. “Oh! I’m not late… am I?” she asked, peering at the sky as if it would answer her.

“No, I was just a little early, that’s all,” he reassured her. “I believe the sauna just cleared out of the last group.”

The sauna master nodded affirmation, gesturing for them to enter. They split apart once inside, each going to the appropriate changing rooms. Seteth found a sauna uniform already set out and waiting; he changed as quickly as he could, though his coat did delay him somewhat before he was properly attired.

When he entered the main chamber, he saw that Byleth was already there. She had spread out a towel to sit on, and had her eyes closed, hands in her lap though her shoulders were loose and relaxed already. When he settled down onto the bench nearby, her eyes fluttered open, glancing over at him, before they shut again.

He could see the faintest traces of a smile. “Is something amusing?” he asked, shifting nervously.

The smile, such as it was, broadened a fraction. “You’re still wearing your circlet,” she pointed out, reaching up to tap a finger to her temple.

Seteth reached up then, feeling the metal band, and gave a soft sigh. “So I am. Too late to worry about it this time,” he replied calmly, settling into a comfortable position.

They were quiet for several minutes, simply enjoying the warmth of the room. When Byleth rose to add more water to the coals, he followed her movements through heavy-lidded eyes, admitting to himself – deep down, at least – that she was a marvelous sight to behold.

More skin was exposed by the cut of the sauna attire. Despite the appearance of her typical clothing, it did at least cover much of her skin. It was rare, then, to see the spiderwebs of scars across her arms and legs, the telltale signs of a life lived roughly and in constant battle. Her muscles rippled beneath the skin, drawing attention to the curve of her calf, her firm thighs…

… he stopped himself, flushing and grateful for the heat as a means to hide the embarrassment of it.

While he did trust her now, far more than he had before, she was still a professor. And… still human. Still young, by all accounts, even if Jeralt had told her birth day falsely… and he undoubtedly had.

He should not be having such thoughts about her. Not these, nor the ones that had plagued him since he’d stumbled upon her in the bathhouse.

“It wasn’t too much steam, was it?” she asked, drawing him back to the present. She was standing in front of him now, leaning forward slightly so that their eyes were on a level.

Seteth very firmly did not allow his gaze to wander to her chest, no matter its current position. “No, no, not at all. Apologies, it has just been a long week indeed.”

She nodded, but somehow did not seem at all convinced. Still, she returned to her seat, stretching lazily. Her breasts had already been pushing against the fabric, but the movement only amplified them, showing off their supple curves.

He bit back a groan and tore his attention away. There were reputations to consider, after all. Hers. His. The church’s. And she had given no indication of interest in him, nor anyone else for that matter. True that it was difficult to decipher her emotions sometimes, but surely if she had those sorts of thoughts, even she would have had *some* tell.

No, better to just ignore these thoughts until they went away, as they surely would.

“Seteth…” At his inquisitive hum, she continued. “You’ve been acting very strangely around me since I returned from the mission. Did I do something wrong?”

He drew in a sharp breath before turning to look at her. Her dark hair hung around her face, framing it. Her brows were furrowed, concern showing in the depths of her eyes though the rest of her face was as immobile, as impassive as ever. He closed his eyes briefly, giving a silent prayer to the Goddess, and opened them again to stare at her. “No, Professor, you are not at fault here.”

“Then why…”

“The blame is on me,” he continued, cutting her off. Heat crept up his neck. “I… was very improper, intruding on you as I did, and I should have apologized for that.”

She looked more confused than before. “Why should you apologize? It was an accident, yes?”  
“I should have knocked to be sure the room was empty.”

He could see the slightest shift in her features as she frowned. “That may be true, but you didn’t intend to do that.” And now she gave him the tiniest of smirks, leaning forward. “I think it would have gone differently if you had.”

Seteth’s jaw tightened to prevent it from falling open entirely. He couldn’t be sure if she was teasing him… or perhaps threatening him. Nor was he sure which one he would prefer… and that train of thought was further derailed when Byleth gave a soft laugh, leaning back in her seat, every motion showing self-satisfaction at whatever she had seen in his face.

She gave another stretch, humming softly, and then stood. “I think I am going to head back now. Thank you for joining me, Seteth,” she said.

“Ah… well, thank you for the invitation, Professor.”

Byleth gave a single nod, and was about to step through into the women’s changing room when she stopped, glancing at him over her shoulder. “You’re quite cute when you’re trying not to blush,” she quipped, not waiting for his reaction as she slipped through, closing the door softly behind her.

Only when he was sure she was truly gone did he groan, burying his head in his hands. He’d been trying so hard… and yet had she still seen right through him?

It wasn’t until much later that he realized she had called him cute.

**Author's Note:**

> Day 2: Composure


End file.
